1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of portable holders for canes. More particularly, the invention pertains to a holder that temporarily engages the shaft of a cane to store the cane in an upright position.
2. Description of Related Art
Canes are used by a large percentage of the population. One of the problems associated with canes is storage. Often times, the cane has to be hung off of a table where any activity around the cane can cause it to fall or be put far out of reach, making the cane inaccessible when the person first gets up. Furthermore, it is very difficult to compactly store a cane in an upright is very difficult to compactly store a cane in an upright position. For example, when a person is out in public, for example in a restaurant a person usually has to store their cane either under their chair, on another chair not being used, against a wall, far out of reach, or hung off the table, so as not to block a path for the other patrons of the restaurant or the wait staff.
Various solutions have been proposed for storing a cane in an upright, vertical position. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,392,946 (Stromberg) discloses a self standing device comprising a housing with a plurality of movable legs, and an extending/retracting means adapted to readily secure to the lower end of a cane, crutch, or the like. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,437 (Chander et. al.), which discloses a clamp forming part of a vertical member that is pivotally attached to a flat plane, where the clamping portion holds the shaft of a cane, crutch or the like, in a temporary fixed position, with the cane, crutch, or the like resting on the floor. The invention also includes a plate with a non-skid surface, which pivots so that it can be placed on a horizontal surface such as a tabletop or bench and the back of the vertical member can still holds the cane, crutch, or the like in a vertical position.
A portable, cane stand for compactly storing a cane. The cane stand comprises a base, a shaft pivotally mounted to the base at an end so that the shaft can pivot relative to the base, and a clip pivotally mounted to an end opposite of the base. Another clip is fixedly attached to the end of the shaft adjacent to the base. Both clips present in the cane stand receive a portion of the cane to be stored. The clips may have a rubber sheathing so that the cane""s finish is not damaged when the cane is being stored in the cane stand. The pivots of the cane stand are an assembly comprising a ferrule securably mounted to the shaft, a hinge, and a mounting for clip. When the cane is being stored in a vertical position, the cane is received by both of the clips and fits into a cutout present in the base.